Lacing needle for leathercraft



Oct. 13, 1953 J, 5, GAR|BALD| 7 2,655,297

LACING NEEDLE FOR LEATHERCRAFT Filed 001:. 12, 1950 a IIIIIIIIII/ lwllllllllllz/ INVENT OR J nsaph G Garibaldi BY :vwm

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LACING NEEDLE FOR LEATHERCRAFT Joseph G. Garibaldi, Saticoy, Calif.

Application October 12, 1950, Serial No. 189,782

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a lacing needle for leather craft, andhas for an object to provide an improved needle particularly intended for cooperation with the type of lacing used in leathercraft.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved needle which is particularly easy to be threaded with the lacing for leathercraft.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improved needle for having leathercraft lacing easily threaded or secured thereto, whereby the lacing may be quickly and easily secured to the improved needle with a minimum amount of time and effort involved.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide an improved leathercraft lacing needle which may be easily manufactured at low cost and which provides means for readily and quickly securin or threading a leathercraft lacing thereto.

A further object of this invention is to provide a lacing craft needle which may bemade by a simple process of stamping and punching a needle blank from a thin sheet of metal, preferably thin stainless steel, and then folding the blank to the finished form, ready for cooperation with a leather craft lacing to which a thinmetal wire, likewise preferably of stainless steel, has been secured at the end to be threaded.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improved leathercraft lacing needle and a cooperating anchor wire readily attached to the end of the leathercraft lacing and used in threading the lacing to the needle and anchoring the lacing thereto.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, as will hereinafter become apparent, this invention comprises the constructions, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth, claimed, and illustrated on the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the needle blank before it is folded;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the finished needle;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the finished needle with a leathercraft lacing threaded and anchored thereto according to this invention;

Fig. 4 is a view of the needle and the lacing as it is being threaded;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of an end of a lacing showing the anchor wire holes formed thereto;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the anchor wire passing through the end of the lacing, and

Figs. '7 and 8 are sectional views on lines '!I and 88 of Fig.2.

In the making of leathercraft, it is either necessary or desirable to sew leather lacing thereto both for structural purposesas well as for decorative or design purposes. Such leather lacing usually consists of a very thin piece of leather or other suitable material, either A or of an inch wide and of indefinite length. A needle is necessary in sewing such lacing to leathercraft, and a further feature is that the end of the lacing should be readily yet securely threaded or at.- tached to the needle, and this invention comprises such a needle to which the leather lacing may be readily threaded or attached and then firmly anchored thereto, and then, when it is necessary to rethread the needle with a new section of lacing, the old section, which is now a very short piece, may be readily detached and a new section readily and firmly anchored to the needle.

The needle 10 of this invention in its finished form will be not less than about 2 inches long and about & of an inch wide, and will be capable of taking either 5 2 or A3 inch leather lacing, or any size not greater than 3 2.

The needle [0 may be formed by stamping or punching a blank I I of the length of the finished needle and of about twice the width thereof, the

blank [I being provided at its point end with a double curved end l2 and I3, joining together at a point M located in the mid-line of the blank I I. At the other, or eye, end of the needle, the blank will be split along the mid-line a distance of about one-fourth of an inch at l5, and about onehalf inch from the inner end of this split l5, or about three-quarters of an inch from the eye end of the needle, a small anchor wire opening l6 will be punched through the blank closely adjacent one side of the mid-line ll. Then, to complete the needle, it will be folded aboutthe mid-line ll, the opposite sides of the needle being folded tightly together from the point end I8 of the finished needle, as far as the anchor wire opening l6 and then also including an area extending below the opening [6 as far as the inner end of the split l5.v The area 20 between the opening [6 as far as the split 15 will be left somewhat raised,

thus providing a tube or tunnel leading from the opening 16 to the split l5, and, inasmuch as the blank is not pressed fiat in the area below and about the split l5, the split 15 will providetwo lips 2| flaring somewhat away from each other. The blank I I from which the needle end is formed will preferably be of thin stainless sheet steel, but any other suitable metal or material may be used. An anchor wire 23 likewise of stainless steel, preferably, but also of any other suitable metal or material, if desired, and of extremely fine diameter, is threaded through two holes 25 and 26 formed in the end of the leathercraft lacing 24 to be threaded and secured to the wire l0. After threading the wire 23 through the lacing opening 25 and then back through the lacing opening 26, the anchor wire may be folded about itself several times, as shown at 21, and then the end 28 may either terminate there or extend back along the wire 23 parallel thereto.

To thread the lacing 24 to the needle 10, the anchor wire 23, already attached to the lacing 24, is merely threaded through the throat 30 between lips 2! and 22 of needle in, and into the tube or tunnel 20 formed at thecore of the needle l extending from the throat 3D to the opening l6, and pulled through the opening l6, until the end of the lacing 24 has entered into the throat 30 as far as it can go. The loose end or ends of the wire 23 is then merely folded back away from the needle ID toward the lacing 24, thereby serving to anchor the end of lacing 24 firmly within the throat 35 between the eye lips 2t and 22.

When the piece of lacing 24 is completely used up, the loose end of the anchor wire 23 is folded back again toward the point H! of needle Ill, thus enabling the end of the lacing 24 tabs: withdrawn from the throat 3B and discarded. Unless badly kinked, the anchor may be reused in a new lacing 24, but the cost of a piece of anchor wire is so small that it is probable that the lacing 24 may be manufactured and sold with an anchor wire in position thereon, ready for quick assembly to the needle of this invention.

With the lacing thus threaded and anchored to the needle of this invention, the needle and lacing will be used in the conventional manner, for the anchor wire extending toward the lacing will not interfere with its operation in any manner, and the needle and lacing may be used to sew the lacing'to leathercraft toany usual and desired manner.

While the preferred formof this invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that this invention is not restricted to the particular details of the construction and arrangement hereinbefore set forth, but that changes in such details and construction maybe made within the scope of what is hereinafter claimed without departing from the spirit of this havention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the-nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

l. A leathercraft lacing needle comprising a long, narrow metal blank folded over alonga midline with its sides adjacent each other providing a needle point at one end and a lacing anchorage at the other end, said lacing anchorage end having its adjacent sides spaced apart-and split along the fold line a short distance providing an. open throat having separate lips which. diverge slightly from each other, and said blank sidesbeing spaced from. each other along the fold line extending from the end of said throat between said diverging lips to an opening extending through one side of said needle to provide a hollow tunnelr whereby a leather lacing may have a fine anchor wire se cured to the end therethrough and said anchor wire may be inserted through said tunnel and through said opening in said needle to draw the end of the leather lacing into said throat between said lips, and then the free end of the anchor wire may be folded back toward the lacing to anchor the lacing within said throat to said needle.

2. A leathercraft lacing needle comprising a long, narrow metal blank folded over along a midline with its sides adjacent each other providing a needle point at one end and a lacing anchorage at the other end, said lacing anchorage end having its adjacent sides spaced apart and split along the fold line a short distance providing an open throathavingseparate lips which diverge slightly from each other, and said blank sides being spaced from each other along the fold line extendingfrom; theend of said throat between said diverginglips to an opening extending through one side of said needle to provide a hollow tunnel, whereby a leather lacing may have a fine anchor wire secured tothe end therethrough and said anchor wire may be inserted through said tunnel and through said opening in said needle to drawtheend of the leather lacing into said throat between said lips, and then the free end of the anchor wire may be folded back toward the lacing to anchor thelaci-ng within said throat to said needle, the remaining area of said folded needle from said anchorage wire opening to said needle point and below said tunnel as far as said lips b'eing pressed tightly together.

3. A leathercraft lacing needle comprising a long narrow sheet-metal blank folded about its mid-line placing its sides adjacent each other; said mid-line being split a short distance at the eye: end-of the needle, the blank ends at said split diverging slightly to provide a lacing throat, and said adjacent sides being spaced apart along said mid-line to provide a tunnel between said blank sides" and extending from said throat to an opening to one side of the needle for threadedly receiving an anchor wire: extending from the end of a lacing, the anchor wire serving to thread the lacing within the throat and be folded back to the lacingto anchor the lacing thereto.

4-. A leathercraft lacing needle con'iprisingv a long narrow sheet-metal blank folded. along about its mid-line placing its sides adjacent each. other, said mid-line being split a short distance: at the eye end. of the needle, the blank ends at said split diverging slightly to provide a lacing throat, and said adjacentsides being spaced apart. along said mid-line to provide a tunnel between said blank sides and extending from said throat for'threaded-ly' receiving. an anchor wire extending, from the endof a lacing, theanchor wire serving to thread the lacing withinthe throat and be folded back to-the lacing to anchor the lacing to the needle.

JOSEPH G1 GARIBAIJDI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,374- Gaillard May'3; I887 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 173,693 Switzerland Mar. 1, 1935 

